The Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra regularly performs with well-known local and internationally renowned artists, interpreting the works of baroque, classical and romantic masters. Conducted by one of the most versatile maestros of his generation, Sebastian Lang-Lessing, the Orchestra will host one of the most sought-after Croatian cellists, Monika Leskovar, at their first performance as part of the 75th Festival.
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Gioacchino Rossini: La Scala di Seta, Overture
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky:
Variations on a Rococo Theme in A major for cello and orchestra, Op.33
Monika Leskovar, cello
Felix Mendelssohn: Symphony No.4 in A Major, Op.90 "Italian"
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‘Eating, loving, singing and digesting are, in truth, the four acts of the comic opera known as life and they pass like bubbles of a bottle of champagne.’ These are the words of Gioachino Rossini (Pesaro, 1792 – Passy, Paris, 1868), the most important Italian composer of the first half of the 19th century. Both his musical and non-musical activities are associated with lightness and hedonism, but there was a special musical artistry behind them. Rossini grew up in theatres in which his father, a trumpeter and hornist, and his mother, a singer, performed. He performed as a boy soprano, then played harpsichord in theatres and started composing his first arias, studying composition in Bologna and the works of Haydn and Mozart. He had a contract with two theatres in Naples and wrote one new opera for each of them every year, but he soon started writing for many other theatres as well. He travelled across Europe and had a string of operatic successes in Italy, Vienna and Paris, where he occasionally lived and spent the final 14 years of his life. He was also renowned for his gastronomic skills. Rossini refined opera buffa and developed opera seria, wrote works that require considerable virtuosity and referred to himself as ‘the last of the Classics’. He composed numerous instrumental pieces, but is best known for his comic operas, as well as other vocal works.
La scala di seta is the third out of five comic farces that the young Rossini wrote in 1812, commissioned by the Teatro Moisè in Venice. This successful one-act opera abounds with intrigue and misunderstandings – Dorvil climbs the titular ladder to reach his secret wife Giulia, and problems occur when her guardian promises her hand in marriage to Dorvil’s friend.
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Votkinsk, 1840 – Saint Petersburg, 1893) is the most popular Russian and, for many, the ‘most Romantic’ composer. His music is characterised by rich melodies and colours, dramatic intensity, meticulous orchestration and national elements – his broad musical strokes are today considered the sound of the ‘Russian soul’. All this, however, is carried out in a cosmopolitan, stricter form, while Tchaikovsky used to say that the most important thing in music for him is – beauty. He studied composition at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory under Anton Rubinstein, and then taught at the Moscow Conservatory, where he stood out for his education and professionalism, as well as his refusal to side with either ‘conservative’ or ‘progressive’ contemporary composers. His life was marked by his friendship with Nadezhda von Meck, who commissioned works from him and supported him financially when he quit his post at the Conservatory. Tchaikovsky’s most famous works are his symphonies, operas Eugene Onegin and The Queen of Spades, ballets Swan Lake and The Nutcracker, three piano concertos and a violin concerto, and he also wrote other music for the stage, cantatas and choral works, pieces for orchestra, art songs, numerous pieces for piano and chamber music.
The so-called Rococo Variations were first performed in 1877 by the cellist Wilhelm Fitzhagen, to whom Tchaikovsky had sent the first version of the work, for cello and piano. Fitzhagen made some changes to the cello part, removed one of the eight variations from Tchaikovsky’s original, and changed the order of the variations. Tchaikovsky may have first orchestrated Fitzhagen’s version, which was later published, with more Fitzhagen’s modifications. For a long time it was considered the only version of the Variations, until the publication of Tchaikovsky’s reconstructed version in the 1950s. This harmonious and charming series of variations, and Tchaikovsky’s nod to Mozart, remains a permanent part of the cellist repertoire around the world.
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (Jacob Ludwig Felix M., Hamburg, 1809 – Leipzig, 1847) grew up in Berlin, where his mother regularly hosted salons. He played the piano, violin and viola and took lessons in composition from a young age. He attended Karl Zelter’s Sing-Akademie, where he later conducted the performance of the rediscovered St Mathew Passion by Johann Sebastian Bach – a composer whose works fascinated him – thus introducing the nineteenth-century audiences to the forgotten and, as was considered at the time, ‘difficult’ genius. At the age of twelve, he met Goethe in Weimar, who compared him to Mozart and supported his composing. His work was influenced by his sister Fanny, also a composer, and his travels around Italy, England and Scotland. He served as music director in Düsseldorf and conductor at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, where he was one of the founders of the Conservatory. Light, melodious and technically refined, Mendelssohn’s works include numerous piano pieces, symphonies, oratorios, the popular Violin Concerto and classical string quartets.
In late 1830, Mendelssohn travelled to Italy, where he spent ten months visiting a number of cities. He poured his impressions into a series of watercolours and sketches, and then into Symphony No. 4, ‘Italian’. However, he quotes Italian music only in the fourth movement, a musical chase based on the Neapolitan saltarello dance, while in the previous movements he indirectly conveys his impressions of the Mediterranean landscape, the sun, religious processions (which inspired the Andante) and architecture (Minuet). He conducted the first performance of the Symphony in London in 1833, but revised it several times after that, despite its success and the opinion that it was the ‘brightest’, but also the ‘most mature’ work he had written up to that point. Mendelssohn once described this symphony as ‘blue sky in A major’.
One of Croatia’s most sought-after cellists, Monika Leskovar (b. Kreutztal, Germany, 1981) studied with Dobrila Berković Magdalenić at the Elly Bašić Music School in Zagreb and later with Valter Dešpalj. She graduated and completed her postgraduate studies under David Geringas at the Hanns Eisler Hochschule für Musik in Berlin, where she continued to work as an assistant. At the age of thirteen she became the youngest winner of the International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians in Japan. She is the winner of international competitions such as the ARD International Music Competition in Munich, Mstislav Rostropovich Cello Competition in Paris, Roberto Caruana Competition in Milan and Adam International Cello Competition in Christchurch.
She performed in Japan, Belgium, France, Germany, Denmark, Hungary, UK, New Zealand and Australia. She regularly appears at chamber music festivals all over the world, such as Kronberg, Casals, Rostropovich and Manchester International Cello Festival. Monika Leskovar plays on a Vincenzo Postiglione cello from 1884, courtesy of the City of Zagreb and the Zagreb Philharmonic.
From 2010 to 2011 Monika Leskovar was the solo cellist of the Munich Philharmonic. From 2012 she taught at the Conservatorio della Svizzera italiana in Lugano, and from 2017 she has been teaching at the Academy of Music in Zagreb, where she is currently Associate Professor.
Sebastian Lang-Lessing was appointed Music Director of the Korean National Opera in 2020. Since 2018, he has conducted over 12 new productions there. Among others, Fidelio – in collaboration with visual artist Kevork Mourad – opened up new ways of presenting opera during the pandemic. Sebastian Lang-Lessing is a passionate advocate of education and gives numerous masterclasses around the world. The Academy of the Korea National Opera was founded on his initiative. In 2020, he made his debut with the KBS Orchestra in Seoul with a Brahms programme and has conducted many South Korean orchestras.
After ten highly successful years as Music Director of the San Antonio Symphony, Sebastian Lang-Lessing became MD Emeritus, allowing him to continue his deep relationship with the orchestra and his strong advocacy for the performing arts in South Texas. He was heavily involved in the re-establishment of the San Antonio Philharmonic.
Highlights include the performance of his Tristan/Elgar arrangement with the cellist István Várdai and the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra in Budapest and with the Liechtenstein Symphony Orchestra, conducting the St Matthew Passion at the newly opened opera house in Budapest and the closing concerts of the Tivoli Festival in Copenhagen with Renée Fleming. His operatic repertoire includes over 80 works, and his symphonic repertoire covers all eras from baroque to new and contemporary music.
Sebastian Lang-Lessing speaks five languages fluently. His curiosity, versatility, extensive repertoire and interest in all cultures make him a unique artist who holds the title of music director on all five continents. Lang-Lessing regularly conducts at major opera houses around the world. He opened the iconic Oslo Opera House with a new production of Porgy and Bess in collaboration with Cape Town Opera, of which he became Music Director shortly afterwards. In Paris, he worked with Maurice Béjart on his spectacular interpretation of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, with which he later toured Japan. Lang-Lessing conducted China’s first production of an opera by R. Strauss, Der Rosenkavalier at the NCPA in Beijing.
His close, personal connections to the symphonies of Schumann, Mendelssohn, Brahms and Beethoven can be heard in numerous recordings and concerts. He also has a great affinity for the French, Russian, Italian, American and contemporary repertoire. His friendships with composers such as Detlev Glanert, Brett Dean and Stewart Copeland have led to a series of new commissions and world premieres. He has a close artistic relationship with artists such as Renée Fleming, as evidenced by their joint album Guilty Pleasures for Decca.
In 1993 Sebastian Lang-Lessing was engaged by Götz Friedrich as house conductor at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, making him the youngest artist to hold this position. He remained there until 2001. The opportunity to conduct hundreds of performances at a young age and to work with leading international singers and directors was decisive and formative for his musical future. From 1998 to 2006 he was the Music Director of the Opéra National and Orchestre Symphonique et Lyrique Nancy, and from 2004 to 2011 the Principal Conductor of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra. From 2009 to 2020 he was the Music Director of the San Antonio Symphony, where he established an annual festival with over 20 performing arts organizations.
Sebastian Lang-Lessing studied piano in Essen with Detlev Kraus and Lübeck with Wilhelm Rau. He studied conducting in Hamburg with Klaus-Peter Seibel and in Vienna with Karl Österreicher. In 1990, he was awarded the prestigious Ferenc Fricsay Prize after his debut concert at the Berlin Philharmonie. He became Gerd Albrecht’s assistant at the Hamburg State Opera and, a year later, became the first conductor in Rostock.
His discography for various labels can also be found on Spotify.
Celebrating the 99th anniversary of its establishment in 2024, the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra remains an inexhaustible source of quality cultural events. They perform their repertoire in venues such as the Rector’s Palace Atrium and Dubrovnik’s churches and squares. They regularly appear with renowned Croatian and international artists, interpreting the works of baroque, classical and romantic masters, both in Dubrovnik and around the world.
The Dubrovnik Orchestra has continuously been active since 1924, initially semi-professionally, and afterwards as a full-sized professional orchestra. It was founded by young enthusiasts, Dubrovnik Grammar School graduates, under the name Dubrovnik Orchestra, which was changed to Dubrovnik Philharmonic Orchestra in 1925. In the years following its establishment, the orchestra was joined by an increasing number of musicians and its repertoire grew accordingly, including more and more complex works. Under renowned conductors Tadeusz Sygietyński and Josef Vlach-Vrutický they premiered the works of Polish-Dubrovnik composer Ludomir Michał Rogowski.
In 1946, the Dubrovnik City Orchestra was officially founded as a professional music body by the City of Dubrovnik with the support of its members, eventually becoming a staple of the Dubrovnik Summer Festival’s music programme. For this reason, it operated under the name Dubrovnik Festival Orchestra for some time. They toured extensively in the 1970s (Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands) under then chief conductor Nikola Debelić, which included a three-month tour of the USA and Canada in collaboration with Columbia Artists Man New York. The orchestra last changed its name in 1992 and has been operating under Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra ever since.
The extensive list of their concerts includes tours in Europe, the USA and Indonesia. The Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra has collaborated with numerous renowned artists, such as Lovro von Matačić, Antonio Janigro, Zubin Mehta, Kirill Kondrashin, Ernst Marzendorfer, Milan Horvat, Nikola Debelić, Pavle Dešpalj, Anton Nanut, David Oistrakh, Yehudi Menuhin, Mstislav Rostropovich, Sviatoslav Richter, Henryk Szeryng, Uto Ughi, Christoph Eschenbach, Stefan Milenkovich, Ivo Pogorelić, Dubravka Tomšič, Dunja Vejzović, Ruža Pospiš Baldani, Monika Leskovar, Radovan Vlatković, Mischa Maisky, Yuri Bashmet, Julian Rachlin, Michel Legrand, Alun Francis, Ivo Dražinić, Maxim Fedotov, Goran Končar, Maxim Vengerov, Nicholas Milton, Christoph Campestrini, Dmitry Sinkovsky, Emmanuel Tjeknavorian, Marija Pavlović, Gordan Nikolić and many others.
The Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra has performed in the world’s most prestigious halls, in Washington (Kennedy Center), New York, Seattle, Zagreb (Lisinski), Versailles, Basel, Jakarta and Vienna (Musikverein). In 2005 they received the prestigious Milka Trnina Award, and in 2015 the award for the contribution to the reputation and promotion of the Dubrovnik-Neretva county in Croatia and abroad. In 2020 the orchestra was awarded the Orlando Grand Prix for outstanding artistic contribution.
The Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra has organised numerous festivals and concert series, such as the International Opera Arias Festival Tino Pattiera, the International Late Summer Music Festival Dubrovnik, Dubrovnik Musical Spring, Autumn Music Variety, and Chamber Music Festival Stradun Classic.
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Monika Leskovar (c) Romano Grozić
Sebastian Lang Lessing (c) Hwang Pil Joo
